Property acquired by a married couple whereas domiciled exterior of California, which might have been categorized as group property had it been acquired whereas residing in California, is handled as separate property in the course of the marriage. Upon divorce or loss of life, nonetheless, this property, termed quasi-community property, is topic to division or inheritance in a lot the identical means as group property. As an illustration, if a pair strikes to California after accumulating property in one other state, a home bought in that different state, solely in a single partner’s identify, could be thought-about quasi-community property.
This classification provides vital safety to non-acquiring spouses, making certain a good and equitable division of property acquired in the course of the marriage, no matter the place the couple lived. It prevents one partner from claiming all property as separate property just because they have been acquired exterior of California. This idea displays California’s sturdy public coverage favoring equal division of marital property and protects the monetary pursuits of each spouses upon dissolution of marriage or loss of life. Its historic improvement stems from a recognition that migrating {couples} ought to obtain the identical property rights protections afforded to long-term California residents.